Manage That Anger (My Two Cents)

Self-control is becoming a thing of the past.

Another incident of murder out of fear has led to a verdict in a Florida court that has left the nation inflamed and divided on how the jury should have ruled. A lot of attention is put on how people should be charged when they fear for their lives and take action such as killing someone. Self-defense is something that depends upon the opinion of the person that feels threatened.

I used to teach anger management in my former job. I was trained in court mandated anger management in order to learn skills that would prevent workplace violence by recognizing signs or symptoms of people who have anger problems. Everyone gets angry at one time or another so anger is not really the issue; the issue is what our anger motivates us to do. The old way of controlling anger was to count to ten. That only works if you count very slowly and breathe correctly and rationalize what would be the consequences of your actions.

Here is my take on what I understand the facts to be about the case in Florida. The guy should have just got of his car and went inside until the person he was waiting on was finished shopping and they could have both left together; that’s my two cents. We can all form opinions on what should have happened but that does not change the fact a kid died. I wonder if the defendant would have acted differently if he could relive the incident. Who knows?

What I do know is that self-control is becoming a thing of the past. It is rooted in pride believe it or not. We want our way and if we don’t get it, we get mad and then we react. Very few take a deep breath and rationalize the results of actions or inactions. What happens if we don’t get our way? What if the other person does not do what we want them to do? What can we do about it? What difference will it make? That is a lot of questions to ask ourselves when we are mad; but that is the key to self-control; not allowing someone else, or something else to control our actions. We actually do not manage our anger; we manage our behavior when we are angry.

Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. (Titus 2:2,6).

Temperance, love, and endurance; the gifts of Christ to those who love Him.